Israel moved closer toward holding a third election in less than a year on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main challenger failed to form a government.
A POLITICAL DEADLOCK
Benny Gantz’s announcement that he would not meet a midnight deadline following Netanyahu’s own failure to put together a coalition in October deepened political deadlock at a time of mounting security and economic concerns.
There now begins a 21-day period in which Israeli lawmakers can nominate any one of the Knesset’s 120 lawmakers to try and establish a coalition where others have failed. If that fails too, an election is triggered within 90 days, raising the prospect for a weary electorate of going back to the polls after inconclusive votes in April and September.
For Netanyahu, not securing a fifth term as prime minister also has legal implications: It may increase his vulnerability to possible indictment on corruption charges.